Straight hand knitting machine and method of knitting



Aug. 21, 1956 H. SCHURICH STRAIGHT HAND KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF KNITTING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1951 Inventor Affornzvs Aug. 21, 1956 H. SCHURICH 2,759,343

STRAIGHT HAND KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF KNITTING Filed May 25, 1951 :5 Sheeis-Sheet 2 Fig.9

Fig.7

[ I In venfor' H,SQhu/1 Cafe After-r2236 H SCHURICH 2,759,343

EIIHOD OF KNITTING Aug. 21, 1956 STRAIGHT HAND KNITTING MACHINE AND M 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 25, 1951 United States Patent "'ce STRAIGHT HAND KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF KNITTING Herbert Schurich, Berlin-Reinickendorf-Ost, Germany Application May 25, 1951, Serial No. 228,170

Claims priority, application Germany May 31, 1950 8 Claims. (CI. 66-60) In the known simple straight knitting machines a yarn carrier is usually employed, which together with the lock is moved to-and-fro along the needle bed and inserts the thread into the open needles on the formation of the stitch. This method of working requires the following equipment:

(1). In order to be able to cause the necessary lagging of the yarn carrier and to change on each occasion the direction of lagging at the points of reversal of the movement, relatively complicated devices are required.

(2.), In order to provide the thread with elastic tension and, particularly at the points of reversal of the reciprocating slide movement which is carried out approximately over the width of the needles operating, to hold the same taut and to prevent the formation of loops at the edge of the knitted material, relatively complicated devices are likewise necessary.

(3,), Finally, relatively complicated devices are .required for winding the yarn on to special spools, in order to ensure continuous and trouble-free running-0E under constant tension.

The necessity-of employing the above-mentioned relatively complicated devices has been a contributing factor :in preventing the straight knitting machine, which per se is relatively simple, from being developed hitherto into :a handy apparatus for domestic use or work at home. *It is an object of the present invention to produce a device which offers the advantages of high speed knitting afforded by a machine, but on the other hand is of the simplest possible and therefore inexpensive construction, such as must be expected-of aJhand apparatus. In order .to comply with this requirement, it was recognised according to the invention that above all the sensitive yarn carrier, the construction and drive of which are complicated, must be avoided, since only by so doing can the necessary simplicity and robustness be attained which are to be expected of a hand appliance, since in the use of the latter :the constant supervision by trained operatives, such as is exercised in a factory, is not possible.

This task is achieved according to the invention, while at the same time avoiding the disadvantages described, in an ingenious manner by "the fact that the tongue needles arranged in the conventional needle bed execute a return movement from the so-called thread insertion position behind the front line of the so-c'alled knock-over bits and subsequently, execute an oppositely directed pushing out movement beyond the threaded insertion position whereby the needles are moved a sufiicient distance through the newly formed meshes that the meshes can slide rearwardly over the free ends of the opened tongue needles. Finally, the needles execute a return movement .into the thread insertion position so that the free ends of their opened tongues are disposed behind the front line of the knock-over bits. The lock 'is made rather more complicated vas a result, it 'is true: practical construction has shown, however, that the resulting ,possibility of dispensing with a yarn carrier simplifies the 2,759,343 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 apparatus to such an extent that as a whole it is still substantially cheaper to construct. In addition, the elimination of the yarn carrier alone enables the apparatus to achieve the robustness and simplicity of operation which are desirable for domestic use. The insertion of the thread by hand, which at first appears to be difiicult, is actually less complicated because the operator very rapidly becomes accustomed to the insertion and no particular care is required for this purpose. In addition, one hand guides the lock while the other hand is free in any case and can attend to the insertion without any loss of time.

Accordingly, as a result of the new straight knitting process, it is no longer necessary to guide the yarn by means of a yarn carrier to follow directly behind the movement of the lock, but the yarn is laid by handover the entire row of needles, whereupon the lock is immediately guided over the needles, the stitches formed, and knocking over effected.

By the elimination of the devices described above under (1) to (3), it is possible to form a straight hand knitting machine which consists of a needle bed and which no longer has the character of .a machine but that of a simple device which is more inexpensive to produce and, owing to the fact that a ball wound simply by hand can be used, is more suitable as a domestic knitting apparatus than the straight knitting machine hitherto customary.

A machine for carrying out the method according to the invention will be explained by way of example in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an elevation of the machine in the direction of the arrow B shown in Figure 3;

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the machine;

Figure 3 shows the machine fastened to an ordinary table during beating up, in side elevation;

Figure 4 shows a view of one of the guide sleeves in the direction of the arrow C;

Figure '5 shows a diagram of the principles of stitch formation on a straight knitting machine of the type hitherto known;

Figure 6 shows a diagram of the principles of stitch formation in the machine according to the present invention;

Figure 7 shows a partial view of a needle bed with some needles in the non-operative position;

Figure 8 shows a view of the needle bed with some needles in their uppermost position, into which the needles are pushed in operation and in which the feet lie against the upper guide bar;

Figure 9 shows a partial view of the needle bed with needles in the middle position (insertion position) after one movement of the lock;

Figure 10 shows a view of the look from below;

Figure 11 shows a side view of the lock in the direction of the arrow D in Figure 10;

Figure 12 shows a partial section through the lock along the line 1010 in Figure 10;

Figure '13 shows a side View of the machine in a simplified representation illustrating the principles, with beating-up comb, and

Figure 14 shows a partial section through the lock, along the line -1212 in Figure 10.

The apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 consists of the needle bed 38 (Figure '13), which is composed of several parts 1 to 4 which are preferably made of synthetic resin plastic and are screwed on to a wooden board 9 of the width E, these parts closely touching one another at the side 1', 4. In order to secure the individual moulded parts in alignment with one another, they 3 are provided with impressed grooves 5', 6, into which the lock guide strips 5, 6 are let in. On both sides of the needle bed there are two angle-pieces 7, 8 of sheet metal, which at the top are screwed to the lock guide strips 5, 6 and at the side to the wooden board 9.

Below the sheet metal angle-pieces 7, 8 are disposed two guide sleeves 11, 12, which receive the ends 13, 14, bent over at right-angles, of the holding-down bar 10 and permit them to be drawn forward in the direction of the arrow A. The holding-down bar 10 has the purpose of preventing the riding-up of the sitches as a result of the upward movement of the needles. The danger of this riding-up is particularly great in the case of those stitches which are situated near the two edges, because, unlike the middle ones, these stitches are not held by the adjoining stitches on either side. Ridingup must however be avoided as far as possible, because otherwise there will be a danger that individual stitches will not slide over the tongue ends.

At the bar ends 13, 14 (Figure 4) of the holdingdown bar 10 there are provided stop pins 15, which, on the drawing-forward, slide as far as shoulders 16 disposed on each of the sleeves 11, 12, the pin hearing against said shoulder; the bar 10 is thereupon rocked downwards into the position shown in broken lines. This is necessary in order that the bar does not interfere in the changing of several meshes on adjacent needles, in the beating up of knitted material already present, or in the beating up of new knitted material being started; operation with the beating-up comb 35 must also not be hindered thereby.

In the inserted position the bar 10 is not displaceable, because a pin 17 can slide up over the inclined surface 18 in the bottom wall of the guide sleeve and engage in a hole 19 provided in the base 18 of the guide sleeve. Only after the bar 10 has been slightly raised can the ends 13, 14 be moved forwards, the pins 17 moving out of the holes 19. On the upper visible surface of the holding-down bar there are stamped marking lines 10 and corresponding numerals of a scale, which correspond to the number of the needles and facilitate the counting of the desired number of stitches for the knitted article to be produced.

In the sketch illustrating principles in Figure 5, the knitting process of a known straight knitting machine operating with a yarn carrier 24 is illustrated diagrammatically. It can be seen therefrom how through the movement of the needle sinker 21 mounted on the lock in the direction of the narrow 22 the needles 23 are lowered step by step one after the other, while synchronously with the needle sinker 21 the yarn carrier 24 inserts the yarn 25 into the hooks 26 of the needles.

In Figure 5, only one half of the knitting operation proper is illustrated and wherein it can be seen that the lock is so constructed that the needles are first lifted by the right hand flank of the needle lifter during the movement of the lock in the direction of the arrow 22 until the needles reach the position 26. This is in order that the needles may immediately thereafter be lowered by the needle sinker 21 until the needles reach the position 26'.

It can be seen from the foregoing why a yarn carrier must be provided which moves together with the lock. On the movement of the lock there are in each case only a few needles which are located in that position in which the thread can be inserted. This is the reason why an automatically guided yarn carrier cannot be dispensed with even if this known straight knitting machine were to be converted into a hand apparatus. If it were desired to entrust the insertion of the yarn on to the needles to the skill of the operator and not to the yarn carrier, far too much time would have to be expended for the insertion, so that economical working would not be possible.

The principle of the present invention will be explained in greater detail with reference to Figures 6 to 9. According to Figure 7, the needles 23 are in the basic position, that is to say out of operation; in this position the needle feet 27 lie against the bottom guide bar 23. The lock (not illustrated in the drawing) is assumed to be located at the right end of the needle bed.

In order to commence knitting work, in accordance with Figure 8, a number of needles, corresponding to the width of the material to be knitted, are pushed up by hand into the uppermost position from the basic position, until they lie with their feet against the upper guide bar 29. The lock is then moved over the row of needles from right to left, whereby it brings the needles into the insertion position, as illustrated in Figure 9. This is achieved by the fact that the needle feet, on the movement of the lock, first strike against the inclined surface 30 (Figure 10) of the one auxiliary needle sinker 44 (position 27+ shown in broken lines in Figure 10), slide along this surface, and then pass through the different positions 27 shown in solid lines in Figure 10, and after the passing of the lock remain in the position 27" (see left edge of the lock in Figure 8). In this position the points of the needle tongues 60 (Figure 6) rocked downwards lie slightly below the upper edges of the knock-over bits 20 (Figure 9) of the needle bed. If the tongue needles are not completely opened, they must now be opened by hand, that is to say the needle tongues must be rocked singly downwards.

The knobs 31, 32 of the needle raisers 33, 34 are then raised in the opposite direction to the arrow 41, namely into the position shown in broken lines in Figure 11, whereby the needle raisers 31, 32 are disconnected, so that they cannot impart any movement to the needle feet. The beating-up comb 35 (Figure 13) is now pushed from below, by its forwardly projecting hooks 36, between the needle heads 37 of the tongue needles 23, and in the first instance held in that position by the left hand. The tongue needles 23 are located in the slots (23', Figure 1) of the needle bed 38. The beating-up comb 35 consists of a narrow bar, on which a large number of hooks 36 are disposed close together side by side with the same spacing as the spacing of slots in the needle bed.

The yarn 39 is then inserted by hand from left to right into the channel forming from the two rows of books, the yarn being unwound from any desired ball. The yarn is inserted in such a way that the free end of the yarn projects a certain distance beyond the left edge of the row of needles. The ball can be mounted in any desired position near the hand knitting apparatus. The lock is then moved from left to right along the guide bars by means of the right hand, while the left hand continues to hold the beating-up comb. In the insertion of the yarn care must be taken that when holding by means of the fingers of the left hand the tension applied to the yarn is not too great, since otherwise loop forming is not possible, the lock being blocked. As the two needle raisers 33, 34 are disconnected, the needles are lowered one after the other by the needle sinker 40 and the yarn is placed in loops over the knockover bite 20 of the needle bed. The needle feet 27 pass through the various positions, starting from the right, as far as the lowest point 27" as shown in Figure 10. From then on the feet pass through the positions 27" shown in chain-dotted lines, because the corresponding needle raiser 33 is disconnected.

The lock is then moved back, no movement being imparted to the needles (idle course), because both needle raisers are disconnected. This idle course, however, is necessary only once, namely in the formation of the first row of stitches, and is therefore of subordinate importance in respect of the economy of working. The beating-up comb 35 is then freed, so that it moves downwards under the action of gravity and hangs with its hooks 36 in the first row of stitches. In order to obtain the correct tension, an exchangeable weight 42 is suspended on the bar of the beating-up comb 35. The left-hand needle raiser 33 is then brought into the working position, the appertaining knob 31 being moved in the direction of the arrow 41' (Figure 11). The lock is then moved from left to right, the needles being pushed out one after the other into their highest position by means of the needle raiser 33 and the inclined surface 48 of the catch 45, and thereupon drawn back into the insertion position (Figure 9). By thus temporarily pushing out the needles a long way for a short time it is intended to achieve the effect that the tongues will pass completely out of the loop just formed.

The right-hand needle raiser 34 is then brought into the working position, the beating-up comb 35 is weighted by hooking on a weight 42, and the yarn 39 is placed on the open needle tongues, coming from right to left. The lock is then moved from right to left by one hand, While the other hand applies a light tension to the thread. On the movement of the lock it forms loops 61 (Figure 6) one after the other. The loops are pushed through the loops of the previously formed row of loops 62 one after the other by means of the needle hooks, and immediately thereafter pushed forwards again by the needle raiser 34, so that the stitches open the tongues (position 63). Now, the left needle lifter 33 is moved from its inoperative position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 11 in which it lies on the lock plate 53 into the operating position illustrated by the full lines in Figure 11 while the knob 31 which is disposed behind the knob 32 is moved in the direction of the arrow 41'. Subsequently, the lock is moved from left to right. As the right hand needle lifter 34 is in the inoperative position, the needles are not influenced by this needle lifter but instead the needles strike the right hand sloping surface of the left needle lifter 33. By reason of this sloping surface and the surface 48 of the catch 45, the needles are lifted in succession into the highest position and are then retracted by the left sinker 43 into the insertion position 27' shown in Figures 9 and 10.

The cycle then begins again from the beginning, the yarn being inserted by hand and the lock guide from left to right over the needle bed. There are therefore no further idle courses: on the contrary, the thread is placed transversely over the row of needles following each movement of the lock. There is practically no loss of time at all in the reciprocating movements of the lock, as a result of this insertion.

In addition to the needle sinker (Figure 10) and the two needle raisers 33, 34, there are disposed on each side above the needle raisers two auxiliary needle sinkers 43, 44 and two catches 45, 46. The catches 45, 46 are rotatably mounted about trunnions 43', 44 which are secured to lock plate 53 and extend to the auxiliary needle sinkers 43, 44 and the trunnions are best depicted in Fig. 10. On the movement of the lock from left to right, the needle feet first move on the upper side of the right-hand needle raiser 34 until they strike against the right-hand edge (Figure 10) of the two edges of the inclined surface 47 of the catch 46 and rock the catch 46 upwards, sliding off under it. The spring 46 then rocks the catch 46 back on to the needle raiser 34. The needle feet are then lowered by the needle sinker 40, moved past the position 27", and then lifted by the left-hand needle raiser 33 until they slide up along the right-hand side of the inclined surfaces 48 of the left-hand catch and then strike against the inclined surface of the left-hand auxiliary needle sinker 43 and are moved inwards by the latter, until finally they reach the position 27. The operation is similar on the return movement of the lock.

By means of the auxiliary needle sinkers 43, 44, in conjunction with the two catches 45, 46, which are loaded by the springs 45, 46', the effect is achieved that the needles are raised further beyond the initial position, after the formation of the stitches, to such an extent that the tongues slide away beneath the stitches just formed, and that the needles only then return for the second time into their starting positions. Only by this additional upward and downward movement has it been made possible to obtain complete stitch formation with knocking over, which in turn has the consequence that it is not necessary to guide the yarn by means of a yarn carrier to follow the movement of the lock, but after complete formation of the stitch, independently of the movement of the lock, the same is placed over the whole width of the row of needles by hand in the vicinity of the hooks.

The additional downward movement has the object of allowing the tongue ends to disappear between the knock-over bits 20 (Fig. 7); otherwise there would be a danger that the yarn on insertion might pass beneath the tongue ends, so that during the subsequent closing of the tongue needles it would not pass into the hooks.

For the exact adjustment of the stitch formation to tighter or looser stitches, the needle sinker 40 is disposed to be slidable perpendicularly to the direction of the needle bed within a slot 52. The slot 52 is provided in the housing plate 53 of the lock. The needle sinker 40 is screwed to aguide piece 54 which has two lateral recesses 55, so that this guide piece engages with a central bridge 56 into the slot 52, thus ensuring parallel guiding. By means of a milled nut 57' and a tension plate 57 the needle sinker can be fixed in the various positions. The tension plate 57 is provided with a pointer 58, which moves in front of an adjusting scale 58 (Figure 1).

In the lock housing, a bail 59 is fixed, the effective angular part thereof being arranged parallel to the front edge of the knock-over bits and closely above the needle heads. This arrangement is provided so that during lock movement, the angular part is led above the needles in such a fashion that the tongues of the needles in their opened positions cannot close in the inserting position as well as in the widest outside position thus preventing improper operation.

Without the bail 59, there would be the danger of closing during operation due to the unavoidable jarring resulting from the quick needle movements effected by the influence of the lock. If the tongue should perchance move into the locking position due to such a jarring, the knee of the bail is struck and they return or fall back into the open position. The closing of the tongues for mesh formations, during the return needle movement, is however, not prevented by the bail since the tongues during the closing movement have already moved from the range of the bail to an extent that it can no longer prevent the closing movement.

I claim:

1. A method of making knitted goods comprising the steps of imparting a return movement to the needles from a thread inserting position to a position behind the row of knock-over bits of the needle bed, imparting an oppositely directed movement beyond the thread inserting position so that the newly formed meshes slide rearwardly over the free ends of the opened needle tongues, thereafter moving the needles to the thread insertion position whereby the free ends of the open tongues are located behind the row of the knock-over bits, and manually laying the thread into the spaced between the needle hooks and needle tongues after the termination of each lock motion along the needle row and before the commencement of the following oppositely directed lock motion.

2. A straight hand knitting machine comprising a needle bed, a series of needles arranged in slots provided in the needle bed, and a lock assembly movable transversely of the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, such lock assembly including a support, a central needle -7 sinker fixed on the support, a needle lifter on said support on either side of the sinker movable to an inoperative position, an auxiliary needle sinker carried by the support on either side of the needle sinker and spaced from each of said needle lifters, and a bevelled catch swingably mounted on the support in the hiatus between each needle lifter and each auxiliary needle sinker so that when the needle lifters are in an operative position, the needle feet, during successive lock motions, alternately slide on the one hand over one catch, the hooks of the needles being moved into their position projecting furtherest from the needle bed and the needle feet on the other hand sliding beneath the other catch while they lift the catch, the needles not being moved beyond the insertion position.

3. A machine as defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that said auxiliary needle sinkers are spaced above each of said needle lifters.

4. A machine as defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that each of said needle lifters is connected to the support by a bolt extending transversely of the support and movable axially of the support, each needle lifter being secured to one end of the bolt and an operating knob attached to the other end of the bolt.

5. A machine as defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that spring means is operatively connected to each catch urging each of the said catches into engagement with its associated needle lifter.

6. A machine as defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that the bevel face on each catch is so located as to extend in the direction of their associated needle lifters, with the catches in the closed position.

7. A machine as, defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that means is provided at the front side of the needle bed to hold down the goods during knitting, such means including two guide sleeves supported below the bed, one sleeve being at one end of the bed while the other sleeve is at the opposite end of the bed, a retaining member extending longitudinally of the bed at the front end thereof and a angular extension at each end of the member lodged in each of the sleeves, the arrangement being such that no obstructions exist during the knitting and turning over of several meshes from the coordinated needles to adjacent needles for pattern formation.

8. A machine as defined in and claimed by claim 2 further characterized in that said catches include inclined faces extending at an angle to the lock guiding direction serving as guiding and abutting surfaces for the needles, trunnions on the support on which the catches are swingably mounted, spring means associated with the catches to cause the catches to abut with their inclined faces on a corresponding upper guide surface of the respective needle lifter, and the catches being so arranged on the support that the inclined faces define immediate continuations of the needle lifter guide edges moving the needle feet.

No references cited. 

